


I Left You a Forget-Me-Not. Did You Find It?

by merlocked



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Friendship, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Sad, post season five
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-22
Packaged: 2018-02-05 17:25:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1826248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlocked/pseuds/merlocked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>WARNING: This is POST SEASON FIVE so there will be SPOILERS. Also, this might make you cry really bad. I'm sorry.</p><p>Drabble on Merlin's life after Season Five, way into the future. Into the modern world where he lives and goes through his daily duties, but never forgetting the world of magic and adventure that he once knew. Sad overall, but with an uplifting ending that might just make you smile.</p><p>Not really Merthur. More of a friendship feel, but you can tell how much Merlin loves Arthur.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Left You a Forget-Me-Not. Did You Find It?

**Author's Note:**

> Soundtrack:
> 
> "Last Hope" by Paramore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBatuRGZAmA  
> "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_1aF54DO60  
> "Laughter Lines" by Bastille https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ccFSXgdv5U  
> "Desert Song" by My Chemical Romance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk_EKzimgIY  
> "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00

Centuries have passed, but Merlin still feels the same. He is still the same sarcastic, brave, and admirable man he was all those years ago. Way back in a land of myth and a time of magic. But he has a certain hollowness in his eyes that cannot be mistaken. A faint raincloud hangs over his head these days. 

Merlin lives in a shabby little house; hidden in the woods and covered in cracking paint. There are small plants on every windowsill and tiny oddities resting on the bookshelves. Pencil sketches adorn the walls in intricate frames. Merlin had taken up drawing, as this was the only way to preserve the faces of his friends from such a long time ago.

Every morning he wakes up and dresses, always with a neckerchief. He has expanded to green and orange colored ones as well as red and blue now. Dressed, he marches down the stairs and out to his mailbox to pick up the paper. Merlin likes to be in touch with current events. They let him know when something big is going to happen. Maybe something big enough to bring Arthur back.

You see, Merlin has waited through every war, dictator, tragedy, and sadness, but his best friend is still laying in that seafoam-shaded lake. Sometimes he wonders if the Great Dragon lied to him about Arthur’s return. 

Merlin shakes these thoughts and grabs his backpack and paper, locking up the house. He walks to the local coffeeshop that is about a twenty minute walk, but Merlin doesn’t mind. He bought one of those music players that everyone has in this century. He has found that he quite likes the indie genre.

Once he reaches the shop, he smiles at the barista who knows his order by heart. When he has the beverage in hand, Merlin sits at one of the far tables and reads his newspaper. 

When that task is completed, he starts his trek for work. It’s only a few blocks away, so he is not too tired to begin. Merlin got a job at the zoo performing magic tricks for children. He loves his job, as he can make people laugh and grin. The pay isn’t great, but Merlin doesn’t mind. He doesn’t need much.

His shift is over at five thirty, and so at this time he walks around to watch the animals. Merlin likes the lions the best. He heard a song on the radio about a king and a lionheart and it reminds him of Arthur. Sometimes he hums the tune to himself and his chest tightens in that way that says that you are about to cry.

Merlin takes a thirty minute walk after that, but every step is worth it. He does this every day without fail. Sometimes he goes out with his coworkers after work to a pub. They might try to take him somewhere else when this hour rolls around, but he declines politely and says he has somewhere else to go.

On his way, he passes a field of Forget-Me-Nots. He picks the best bloom and cradles it in his arms, careful not to damage the leaves. Merlin carries this flower to a lake colored seafoam. He kneels down and places the flower into the water and chants a spell to send it swiftly floating out into the slight waves.

There is a tree by the start of the lake. Merlin sits there each and every day. Once he is situated, he begins to talk. He tells Arthur about his day and about the children. He tells him about how lonesome he is these days and how it would be so much nicer if Arthur were here with him. How they could go on so many adventures together. Merlin could show him all of the new inventions and ideas of this day and age. 

Merlin admits that he still has his friend’s cape from centuries ago. He isn't supposed to have it, but he does. He doesn’t think Arthur minds.

Merlin knows that the war is over and won. He knows that the battles of their time are long gone now. He knows that the lake will not be kind enough to return his best friend to him, but still he sits with hope in his heart. 

He can feel Arthur all around him. He can feel his smile in the glistening waters and feel his shining hair in the fading golden sunlight. He can feel Arthur’s arms around him in the gentle breeze nipping at his cheeks. He can feel Arthur’s laugh in the chirping birds and wildlife. And he can feel Arthur’s spirit inside of him, keeping him alive. He can feel Arthur’s spirit in everything around him, so full of life and happiness and love.

His destiny is to protect Arthur. It always has been and it always will be. So here he sits, watching over his king. He sits for hours. Sometimes he brings a book to read and sometimes he reads it aloud to Arthur. 

Merlin thinks that Arthur likes “Peter Pan” the best because the flowers always stand a little bit straighter when he reads it. Merlin likes to think of himself as Peter and of Arthur as Wendy. One day, maybe Merlin could whisk his Wendy out of his world and into a whole new world that is all too familiar. All of the Lost Boys in shining armor will be there, and Guinevere in her sparkling fairy wings.

But here in this world Merlin is reading his novel in the growing sunset. He can’t see his best friend, but he knows that Arthur is there with him. 

Sometimes Merlin falls asleep reading and wakes up to find that it is a new day. On these occasions, Merlin will find that he has been readjusted so that his head is comfortably resting of a soft patch of moss or flowers. When he sits up to stretch, he will find a beautiful Forget-Me-Not resting beside him.

Merlin keeps every single one of these flowers. He takes them home and places them gingerly into a Pendragon-red vase. Using magic, he keeps them fresh and alive. They are his favorite thing in the house.

In the nights he spends at his home, Merlin will look at the flowers before bed. Sometimes he cries, but sometimes he smiles, and sometimes he laughs. 

He sets his clock for the next morning and chuckles to himself because he has found out how to make the alarm say, “Rise and Shine!” 

Merlin lays down in his bed and cuddles with his stuffed dragon. He bought it at the zoo’s gift shop, as it reminded him of someone he used to know.

He drifts off into a pleasant sleep, a little grin playing at the corner of his lips because he is okay, really. He is okay. He has his drawings and he has his flowers. He likes the new century he is living in, as it has introduced him to Ramen Noodles, which he has become a bit addicted to. 

He has friends at work and friends at the coffeeshop. He gets plenty of exercise and reads plenty of novels. His days are fulfilling and he is never struck with boredom. 

But there is a hollowness that remains in his eyes. A certain emptiness that he feels deep inside, like a stab wound that never healed. Sometimes he longs for the days of adventure and magic that meant something important, but he doesn’t like to get too nostalgic.

So when he wakes up the next day and saunters outside to grab his paper, he feels a faint wind on his cheeks and smiles, showing his pearly teeth. He glances to his left and says, “It’s a new day, Arthur,” because that’s what Arthur would say if he were here.

And he smiles, he does. Because Merlin never feels that he is alone. And he is okay.


End file.
